“Given the current climate around sexual assault and allegations that become more public each day in showcasing this work for the masses without providing any type of clarification, The Met is, perhaps unintentionally, supporting voyeurism and the objectification of children.”

That was what New Yorker Mia Merrill penned in a petition, demanding the museum either remove a painting depicting a young child or “amend the wall text to acknowledge the potentially disturbing nature of the work,” reports HuffPost.

Over the past two weeks, the petition gained more than 11 000 signatures.

And the painting in question? Well:

Hanging on a wall at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a painting of a pubescent girl. She’s leaning back in a wicker chair, eyes closed, arms clasped above her head. Her knees are splayed open and her red skirt is flipped up to reveal a pair of white underwear.

The 20th-century work by the French artist Balthus depicts the artist’s neighbor [sic], Thérèse Blanchard, according to the Met’s description. She modeled for a total of 11 Balthus paintings between 1936 and 1939, starting when she was 11 years old.

However, her quest has been called a “witch hunt”, with one vocal opponent being New York magazine art critic Jerry Saltz:

“Um if you take [‘Thérèse Dreaming’] out,” he wrote on Instagram, “you pretty much have to remove ALL art from wings of India, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Greece, Rome, Renaissance, Rococo, and Impressionism, German Expressionism, Klimnt, Munch, and all Picasso & Matisse.” He topped off the sentiment with the hashtag #ArtWorldTaliban.

But as anyone fluent in the woes of modern-day advancement of sexuality knows, the issue isn’t with nudity. Rather, it’s with the “imbalance of power” that constantly places woman in a sexualised position as an eternal object of beauty.

We are not here for your uninvited pleasure.

In response to Merrill’s petition, The Met announced in a statement that it will not remove the Balthus piece:

“Moments such as this provide an opportunity for conversation,” a spokesperson for the museum wrote, “and visual art is one of the most significant means we have for reflecting on both the past and the present, and encouraging the continuing evolution of existing culture through informed discussion and respect for creative expression.”

If you would like to engage in more of the debate, read Huff Post’s full article here.